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June 30, 2007
Fremont S.W.A.T. Team and CFO
Members of the Fremont S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons And Tactics) Team joined CrossFit Oakland bright and early this morning for a short, sweet, and brutal team-building workout. Tremendous effort by everyone!
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We will be open again tomorrow--9 a.m. and 10 a.m. classes per our usual Sunday schedule. Get ready for Fight Gone Bad, it's been a while, and we need some scores to put up on our new Trophy Board!
Thank you everyone for your patience over the last couple of days!
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 7:55 PM | Comments (1)
June 29, 2007
Moving In
Nicole and Franklin pondering...ummm...something
Day 1 was a huge success! We moved everything out of our old space and into our new one in only two trips. Plus we got all of the mats and weightlifting pods laid down.
Now we just need to polish up the place a bit, organize it a tad, and add a few special touches here and there (hint: you'll no longer have to hunt around for that special 20-pound dumbbell, hidden underneath all the 15-pounders and 50-pounders).
A big thanks to Joe P, Tim, Andrea, Shira, Casey, Tom, and Bryan for showing up and helping out.
On to Day 2!
Your Gymless WOD for Saturday:
How many rounds in 20 minutes can you do of the following?
* Walking Lunge 100 feet
* 15 Push-Ups
* 15 Jumping Squats
Posted by Mike Minium at 7:06 PM | Comments (3)
June 28, 2007
Proprioception
Frequently called the sixth sense proprioception is the sense of position and movement of the limbs and the sense of muscular tension. The awareness of the orientation of the body in space and the direction, extent, and rate of movement of the limbs depend in part upon information derived from sensory receptors in the joints, tendons, and muscles.
Photo: Negro Gato
WOD Friday June 29
3 Rounds
Run 800 meters
50 Air Squats
Post your times to comments
Reminder
CFO will be closed Friday June 30 and Sat July 01. We will reopen Sun July 02.
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 10:36 PM
June 27, 2007
Guest Appearances
Nathan Jeffers and Family
The Jeffers family paid CFO a visit yesterday and joined us for the "Troublesome 250".
They have recently opened a CrossFit Affiliate in Portland called, Everyday Athlete. We wish them luck on their new venture and promise to send some CFO athletes their way soon.
http://www.everydayathletepdx.com/
The Troublesome 250 (As Rx'd):
25 Pull-Ups
50 Deadlifts @ 135#
50 Box Jumps @ 24"
50 Floor Wipers @ 135#
50 DB Clean-n-Jerks @ 40#
25 Pull-Ups
Our "Shopping in the Zone" fieldtrip was a good one, and for those of you who want a follow-up or some reminders on recipes mentioned amidst the crowds, please feel free to email us:
info@crossfitoakland.com
REMINDER
We are closed for moving on Friday and Saturday--Looks like Fight Gone Bad on Sunday morn'!
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 4:00 PM | Comments (1)
June 26, 2007
Two Trainees Take on Troublesome 250
(Sorry, I couldn't help myself with the title of the post and went all crazy with alliteration.)
Theresa and Andrea decided to take on the "Troublesome 250" today, which is loosely based on a workout that was done by the actors of the movie The 300.
The Troublesome 250 (As Rx'd):
25 Pull-Ups
50 Deadlifts @ 135#
50 Box Jumps @ 24"
50 Floor Wipers @ 135#
50 DB Clean-n-Jerks @ 40#
25 Pull-Ups
Great work, Theresa and Andrea.
And yes, Andrea, the song on the video is for you!
Posted by Mike Minium at 9:16 PM | Comments (2)
June 25, 2007
CrossFit Oakland Olympic Weightlifting Team
A reminder CrossFit Oakland is sponsoring an Olympic Weightlifting team that will compete at regional meets. Please post to comments or let Mike or Nicole know if you would like to join the team and compete in Olympic weight lifting competitions.
Check out this inspiring story on Natalie Woolfolk who literally moved from a garage gym to the Olympic Training Center.
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 10:52 PM | Comments (12)
June 24, 2007
Forget Crunches
THE AB WARS-Interesting article about the correct use of the abdominal wall during movement and exercise.
http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/344/
This Week at CFO:
Trader Joe's Zone Shopping at 7P.M. on Wednesday the 27th--We will be meeting at the TJ's in Emerville at 7p.m.. Rumor has it that they will be preparing a Zone snack for the masses that evening in honor of our arrival.
Friday the 29th and Saturday the 30th we will be CLOSED for the move, but will be posting WOD's that require no equipment.
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 2:53 PM | Comments (2)
June 23, 2007
Finishing Touches
Franklin, Nicole, and Mike outside the new home of CFO
The finishing touches are being put on our new box so that we can have the place ready for workouts next Sunday, July 1 (e.g., a fresh coat of paint, touching up the floor, etc.). It'll be the perfect way to start the month!
***Reminder****
We'll be closed Friday, June 29 and Saturday, June 30 as we ready the new space for full-fledged CrossFitting. We'll be moving stuff from our old box to the new box beginning 7:00 a.m. on Friday, and you're most welcome to come help!
Post to Comments your requests for an opening-day WOD.
Posted by Mike Minium at 7:33 PM | Comments (6)
June 22, 2007
A moment to reflect
Our feelings and thoughts are with the fiends and family of the fallen Charleston South Carolina firefighters and their loved ones.
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 9:42 PM | Comments (1)
June 21, 2007
Bye, Bye Grace Avenue!
CFO's New Box!
Our last week on Grace Avenue is upon us! We are really excited about our new facility--3,200 sq. ft, roll-up door, grappling/gymnastics room and lots of wall ball targets!
Please note that we will be closed for the move on:
Friday, June 29th
and
Saturday June 30th
For those of you who have kindly offered to help us move, the big day is Friday. Truck arrives at 7a.m. and we won't stop until we're done!
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 8:16 PM | Comments (1)
June 20, 2007
2 Spots Left for Olympic Lifting Clinic
If you're interested in participating in this Sunday's Olympic Weightlifting Clinic with Jim Schmitz, there are two spots left. The cost is $100 for CFO members and $125 for those who are not CFO members.
The clinic runs from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. this Sunday, June 24.
If you want to take part in the clinic, send an email to info@crossfitoakland.com or call us at (510) 595-9348.
And get ready for some pushing of your bodyweight around tomorrow:
"J.T."
21-15-9 reps of:
Handstand push-ups
Ring dips
Push-ups
Posted by Mike Minium at 8:07 PM
June 19, 2007
An Interesting Cooldown at CFO
Jeralee & Laura take the idea of cooling down after a WOD to a new level. Perhaps they can do the tango next time!
(And what's up with that lame laugh of the cameraman?)
Rest Day Workout/Skill Development
Shoulder Press 5x3
Push Press 5x3
Push Jerk 5x3
Broomstick Team Workout
Posted by Mike Minium at 8:33 PM | Comments (7)
Extra Class Tonight For 12K rowers: 8-9PM
If anyone cares to join me at 8PM to row 12K (a good sub for 10K run), please RSVP or post to comments: there are currently four rowers available.
Posted by Max Lewin at 9:14 AM | Comments (5)
June 18, 2007
Rita Gets Cut!
Rita and her 4 compadres, also known as the "Fab 5" have recently joined CFO and are quickly making gains in body composition change and overall conditioning and strength--as evidenced by the newly developed tricep muscle Rita is showing off in the photo!
AND, though we didn't capture it on video Annie Vought got her first muscle-up a few days ago! Funny thing is that one of her 2007 goals was to get "a dip" sometime this year! Congratulations Annie, we are impressed and inspired...
Coach on range of motion:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RangeOfMotion.mov
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 8:13 PM | Comments (5)
June 17, 2007
Sprinting at CFO
Sprinting is a nice option for increasing one's level of cardiorespiratory fitness while preserving hard-earned muscle mass in the process. If you don't believe you can favorably impact your cardiorespiratory endurance via "brief" efforts such as sprinting, try running ten 100-meter sprints with only 1 minute of rest between efforts and let us know how it goes.
Posted by Mike Minium at 6:52 PM | Comments (3)
June 16, 2007
Pretty “Bad Ass” Boys of CrossFit Oakland
Chad is a good example of how CrossFit works, he has been doing CrossFit on and off for a more than a year and now is realizing the benefits of while he does all sorts of other things that involve pushing, pulling, kicking, jumping, a little running and other things I can not list here! Way to work hard, Chad.
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 3:49 PM | Comments (6)
June 15, 2007
Pose Running Clinic on June 15-8a.m. Piedmont High
CFO will be giving a FREE clinic on basic POSE techniques tomorrow (6/9) at 8a.m. at the Piedmont High Track (800 Magnolia Avenue off of Lakeshore Avenue).
The POSE technique will lead to the following improvements in your running game:
* Radically improved form
* Increased speed
* Better endurance
* Less injuries
* Increased flexibility
* Faster recovery time
* Improved concentration
More on POSE method:http://www.posetech.com/pose_method/
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 9:06 PM
On Endurance and CrossFit, Part 1
Graph of body's three energy systems, courtesy of CrossFit.com
Having just had my once-every-three-years-or-so exposure to a long, monostructural bout of physical activity (last weekend's Mud Run), I've been thinking about endurance lately.
To that end, I have the following question for you, which may seem like a paradox but is actually not.
Q: What's the quickest way for a CrossFitter to become a better distance runner?
A: To become less fit.
Post to Comments your explanation of why this is not a paradox. Or conversely, post why you think such a statement is nothing but bunkum. Either way, come with well thought-out answers. Comments like "Mike sucks and is lame" won't cut the mustard (even though such statements may in fact be true).
Posted by Mike Minium at 6:05 PM | Comments (12)
June 13, 2007
Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders
When you are not busy rushing to CrossFit Oakland to get your WOD on you may want to check out this very cool group of running enthusiasts who arrange multiple runs in the local area with a focus on timed events around Lake Merritt.
This group organizes timed runs every 4th Sunday of the month these runs feature 5K, 10K and 15K loops around the lake.
These runs will allow you to get independent verification of the fitness gains you have been the beneficiary of by doing CrossFit. Trust me after 3 months of CrossFit you should see measurable improvements in your 5K times. The is particularly relevant to CrossFiters because the 5K distances is in the fitness time domain we love to work within not weakness time domain most long distance runners must enter to achieve competitive times.
Post the names of the CrossFit Oakland members you can identify in this picture to Comments.
Read more about the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 10:05 PM | Comments (2)
June 12, 2007
Back to Basics-The Squat
A little story about the functional benefits of the squat (from Stumptuous.com):
My neighbours wanted to redo their back yard so they rented this monsterous roto-tiller. It was so damn big it was delivered on a flat bed and they used a crane to download it. Well stupid me, I decide to borrow it. I'm out back tilling away to make room for next spring's garden when I get to a particularly hard piece of earth. Here I am, Mr. Suit and Tie, in only shorts and shoes, covered head to toe in dust. The contraption has like a 50 hp motor, huge self propelled wheels, reverse, etc. I decide to back up.
The Satan machine takes off backwards in a lurch. By the time I get my hand off the throttle lever it's too late. The handles are about 3 feet long. They pass me, and push me into the 6' chain link fence. The reverse lever and the throttle lever are about 2' long. I'm pushing forward for my life, while simultaneously trying to reach behind me to get a hold of the disengage lever which is now torn off of the handle and stretched to the max. I'm of course losing the battle. The two levers in the middle, (the throttle and reverse lever), are pushing into my stomach, slowly raising the engine power, and more fully engaging the reverse clutch. Now I'm getting smashed into the fence, being impalled by two steel rods without any sort of protective caps, and having my feet nipped at by the tines that are spinning at an astonishing speed.
I take my feet off the ground and contort in a manner to get them onto the machine in a way to try and push back. My left upper thigh is now being jabbed by the sharp corner of one of the control boxes in which the HOT hydraulic fluid runs through. The pain of the corner was more than the searing cooked flesh I am now experiencing.
By now I'm totally smashed into the fence. The fence starts to tear away from the posts it's anchored to, one at a time. As the roto-tiller gains ground the parts I'm being impaled with along with the front raises off of the ground. Its comin up at me and I'm stuck like an idiot about to be the first man in the local news to be roto'd to death. The entire time I'm thinking of Mike Mentzer and his fanatic negative and static strength beliefs. That SOB better be right, I'm thinking, as I pray to God my wife isn't the one who finds me ground up into hamburger and garden mulch.
The rototiller advances further, and more fence rips off of posts. By now I'm seriously considering intentionaly impaling myself so I can reach the filter which the hydraulic fluid passes through, to unscrew it and hopefully get patched up by the medics later on. I can't reach. My legs are totally ruined. I'm pushing with every last ounce of will I possess just trying to keep it from advancing further... The two rods are now pushing my stomach so far in I can't really breathe. The corner of the metal box is pushed about 4 inches into by upper thigh and is smashed into the bone. It was well over 350 to 400 degrees. By now I'm thinking I'd better yell for help and the fuckin hell with embarrassment.
So I yell, "HEEEEEEEELLLLP" at the top of my lungs. Which actually wasn't very loud since I couldn't breathe. I keep yelling until the neighbors all start running like madmen in a stampede. My neighbour across the street, who is in her 80s, sprints across in what must have been a 4.1 40 speed and climbs the fence on the other side of the house, runs around the back of the house, and shuts the damn thing off. The other neighbors arrive and it takes 8 of them to pull the fucker back far enough just to get my feet near the ground. My legs were so fried from pushing so hard for so long that I couldn't even hold myself up. They drag me into my house and my sweet lovely 80 yr old neighbor gets me 3 shots of peppermint schnapps out of the freezer. God I love her.
The moral of the story: squat.
I had problems with my knees that were answered by Dr.Squat. And I tell you what. If the answers hadn't helped me overcome my bad knees in training I most certainly would have been dead. Without question. I now sport a weird looking dollar sized scar on my thigh. And newfound respect for Mentzer. When I returned to the gym a week later I squatted 405 for the first time in my life. Seriously though, I would be dead if it were not for heavy squats. No shit, or hyperbole, or exaggerating. I would have been dead before I ever got a chance to yell for help.
less anectodal, more technical info on the squat:
http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=52
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 2:52 PM | Comments (7)
June 11, 2007
CFO Version 3.0
That's right, in case you haven't heard, we're moving again.
This time we'll be moving to a 3,800 square-foot facility a mere 1.1 miles away from our current facility.
Our new facility has a main training floor downstairs roughly the size of our current space and a separate training room upstairs (yes, it's two stories) that we're going to be using for acrobatics, gymnastics, tumbling, and grappling.
The building is located at the intersection of 39th Street and Adeline and is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the major freeways and the Macarthur BART station (it's 0.8 miles from Macarthur BART).
We'll be doing several follow-up posts on the new spot in the coming weeks, especially as we approach move-in day, which we've set for June 29th...stay tuned!
In the meantime, here's a look at our new facility from the street view: New CFO
Workout Stuff
Tomorrow's a rest day on the national site so we'll be working the following skills:
Push-Ups
Pistols
Kettlebell Swings
We'll be drilling each of these skills and may throw in a mini-workout or two while you're practicing them.
And the finisher WOD will be the following:
21-15-9 Reps:
Box Jumps
Jumping Ring Dips
Posted by Mike Minium at 10:57 PM | Comments (4)
June 10, 2007
CrossFit Oakland Team DFL
See all the photos HERE.
CLICK PICS FOR HI-RES VERSION
All of the runners, plus yours truly, Captain Gimpy, had a great time. Thanks so much to Denise and Shawn for putting us up, and Richard for showing us a great time post-race!
Posted by Max Lewin at 8:22 PM | Comments (6)
June 9, 2007
WOD Competition
Crossfit Oakland will be hosting a monthly WOD competition. Our debut WOD is Fran:
21-15-9 Reps:
Thrusters
Pull-Ups
Our first 'WOD-Off' will be Saturday, July 14 at 6:00 p.m. at our new location on 3900 Adeline.
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 9:57 PM | Comments (2)
June 8, 2007
Life Academy Training, Part 2
The Life Academy boys after Fight Gone Bad
We had our last session with the students of Life Academy this past Thursday. The experience was wonderful and we'll miss having them in training with us, but are already looking forward to next year.
Thanks to Candace and Preston for making this happen!
Posted by Mike Minium at 8:30 PM | Comments (1)
June 7, 2007
Self-Defense Clinic June 16
Details:
James Maiz for a self-defense clinic on June 16, from 11AM to 2PM.
Cost is $60 first come first serve, payment confirms your participation.
Post to comments if you are interested in attending this seminar and make your payment online (credit card payment link on the left select $50 miscellaneous training/seminar you can pay the final $10 the day of the clinic).
To learn more about James Maiz check out a recent interview with Krav Maga San Francisco.
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 10:19 PM | Comments (7)
June 6, 2007
CFO and the Camp Pendelton Mud Run
There are 12 of us cooky CrossFitters going to Camp Pendelton this weekend to participate in the Camp Pendelton Mud Run! Wish us luck and stay tuned for photos of our victorious finish line crossings!!!
*******NO FRIDAY NIGHT CLASSES***************************************
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 3:52 PM | Comments (2)
June 5, 2007
Weightlifting Clinic with Jim Schmitz June 24
Jim Schmitz, U.S. Olympic Team Weightlifting Coach 1980, 1988 & 1992, President of USA Weightlifting 1988-1996, and author of Olympic-style Weightlifting for Beginner & Intermediate Weightlifters will be doing another Olympic Weightlifting clinic at CFO on Sunday, June 24 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The cost of the clinic is $100 for CFO members and $125 for non-CFO members. The clinic, as before, is limited to 6 spots and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.
To reserve your spot, either post to Comments, call us at (510) 595-9348, or email us at info@crossfitoakland.com.
***FRIDAY EVENING CLASSES CANCELED***
Due to numerous schedule conflicts, most notably the Mud Run, the 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. classes will be canceled this Friday night. We'll be posting a workout that you can do in lieu of the Friday evening group class on Thursday night.
Posted by Mike Minium at 11:12 PM | Comments (4)
June 4, 2007
Lombard’s Paradox
Lombard's Paradox describes a paradoxical muscular contraction in humans. When standing up from a sitting position, both the hamstrings and quadriceps contract at the same time. However, these muscle groups are antagonistic, meaning that they should not contract at the same time.
The Rectus femoris biarticular muscle acting over the hip has a smaller hip moment arm than the Hamstrings. However, the rectus femoris moment arm is greater over the knee than the hamstring knee moment. This means that contraction from both rectus femoris and hamstrings will result in hip and knee extension. Hip extension also adds a passive stretch component to rectus femoris, which results in a knee extension force. This paradox allows for efficient movement, especially during the CrossFit Air Squat and Glute-Ham sit-up.
Lombard, W.P., & Abbott, F.M. (1907). The mechanical effects produced by the contraction of individual muscles of the thigh of the frog. American Journal of Physiology, 20, 1-60.
http://guardian.curtin.edu.au:16080/cga/teach-in/lombard/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard%27s_Paradox
Dr. Lombard suggested that while sitting in a chair if one should grasp his thigh so the thumb palpates the belly of the rectus femoris (top of the thigh) and the fingers palpate the bellies of the hamstring muscles (back of the thigh) he will discover the following. As one rises from the chair by means of hip and knee extension, one will feel both the rectus femoris and the hamstring muscles spring into action. It may surprise one to discover that all of these muscles are active. Further, one might expect that the rectus femoris and the hamstrings would neutralize each others action so that no movement would be possible. But they don't. This seemingly contradictory situation is known as Lombard's
Pardox.
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 9:20 PM | Comments (4)
June 3, 2007
Athlete Spotlight: Andrea Phillips
We want to acknowledge one of CFO's most dedicated athletes: Andrea Phillips. Andrea has perfected form, been consistent and is now making enormous gains by pushing herself hard. We would also like to thank Andrea for spreading the word about CFO and bringing so many new athletes to train with us!
AND check it out, Mike and HQ folks learning from a world renowned strength expert, Mark Rippetoe:
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-affiliates/
Posted by Nicole Okumu at 1:26 PM | Comments (2)
June 2, 2007
Going Deep and Getting Strong
Coach Mark Rippetoe and Some Random Dude
I had the extreme privilege and honor to be coached on three of the barbell lifts by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore today as part of the CrossFit Basic Barbell Training Seminar in San Diego, CA.
If you're not familiar with Mark and Lon, check out their books Starting Strength and Practical Programming for Strength Training. These two books are must-reads for anyone with even a passing interest in barbell training.
Today we covered the back squat, shoulder press, and deadlift (the three component lifts of the CrossFit Total). Tomorrow we'll be covering the bench press, power clean, and exercise programming.
I'll have much more to say about this, online and on the gym floor, but for now I'll simply add one tidbit. Coach Rippetoe offered up the following remark during one of his many talks today: "Perfect is the enemy of good." I've placed this quote at the top of our blog for emphasis. Basically, he's saying that you have to insist on perfect technique every time, and that good technique is not enough.
So now's your opportunity: Post to Comments any questions you have about the 5 lifts that I can ask Coach Rippetoe and Coach Kilgore.
Posted by Mike Minium at 7:22 PM | Comments (11)
June 1, 2007
Congratulations
I would like to take the time to congratulate all the recent OFD recruits who “graduated” from the academy last month. Firefighters exemplify the need for “functional fitness” in that they are never sure what physical stresses they will be exposed to when they are called to duty.
Post your thoughts to comments
Posted by Franklin Okumu at 10:42 PM | Comments (1)